


Penny for Your Thoughts

by Brandon_McAuley



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Because quite frankly this ship needs some more fluff and they deserve nice things, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-09 14:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15269118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brandon_McAuley/pseuds/Brandon_McAuley
Summary: When Detective Gavin Reed accidentally breaks Officer Tina Chen's foot, he feels that it's only right to buy her a nice card and some flowers by way of apology. But at the flower shop, Gavin meets a florist android with mesmerizing grey eyes and a charming smile. Suddenly, Gavin finds himself visiting this particular florist again and again... And again.





	1. An Apology Bouquet

He swore that it had been an accident. Gavin had swung the door to the evidence room just a little too hard, and Tina had been just a little too close.

Door, meet foot.

_It's just a hairline fracture in my toe_ , she had tried to dismiss.  _Really, it's no big deal_.

But this didn't stop Gavin from feeling a little guilty. Tina was one of the few co-workers that he could actually tolerate, so he felt that it was only right that he go and buy a nice card and get a few flowers by way of apology.

He stopped by the little flower shop on the corner of 7th and Lincoln Avenue. He had passed by the storefront an uncountable amount of times on his hurried way to and from work, but he hadn't paid it much mind until now. It was a small shop with a small green awning above its front door and a large glass window that allowed those passing by a clear view of the wide range of products that were readily available.

The little bell above the door jingled, announcing the detective's sheepish entrance. Gavin was still dress in his navy-blue DPD uniform, making a few customers inside look up and try not to stare. It was difficult to avoid sideways glances, but there was just something about his uniform that commanded attention.

Gavin looked around, the sweet scents of the store hitting his nose. He stifled a sneeze. Officer Chen loved flowers, but it was a shame that he was allergic.

"Hi there," greeted a voice.

Gavin turned and met the gaze of an android. The android was a few inches taller than himself, with dark brown hair, freckled cheeks and the most mesmerizing grey eyes. The android was wearing a white button-up shirt tucked in to dark blue jeans. Over top, he wore a green apron and a name tag: Richard.

"Er, hi," stumbled Gavin. He hoped he hadn't been staring.

"What brings you in today?"

"Just hoping to get a few flowers."

Richard smiled, "Well, we've got plenty."

Gavin's heart skipped a beat. What a charming smile. Since when had CyberLife started to make their androids so damn realistic? It bordered uncanny and unnerving.

"May ask what the occasion is?" continued Richard, ever polite.

"I, uh," muttered the detective. He scratched behind his ear, suddenly feeling bashful. "I broke someone's foot."

Richard raised his eyebrows, "So we're looking for an apology bouquet."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

The android motioned to a row of flowers nearest to them, "I can show you a few of the varieties, if you'd like. Did you have a particular price range in mind?"

"Yeah," nodded Gavin. "I need something that says 'my bad,' but doesn't really go overboard and mess with my 'bad cop' persona."

Richard laughed. Gavin willed himself not to blush. It was the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard. It was goofy, but it worked so well with the android's handsome face. Man, why the fuck did they have to be so perfect. Stupid fucking androids.

"How about a little pot of zinnias?" suggested the android as he picked up a pre-arranged thing of flowers. The pot was in the shape of a watering can, and the assortment of pink, yellow and orange flowers were poking out of the center. "They need lots of sun, but they're definitely in season and should last quite a while with plenty of watering."

"Sure," shrugged Gavin. He really didn't know enough about flowers to have a genuine opinion. "That sounds nice."

"Awesome," smiled Richard. "I guess I'll ring you through. Are you sure you don't want to look at anything else?"

Gavin cleared his throat, mind swimming. There was just too much to try and focus on, too many colors and smells and freckles to count.

"Yeah, it's all good. I just hope she likes them."

It could have been Gavin's imagination, it could have been the long hours and lack of sleep as a result, but he thought he saw the android's expression drop for the briefest moment.

"Your girlfriend?" the android inquired, smile once again brightening up his face.

"Ah, no," said Gavin, quickly shaking his head. "Co-worker."

"I see." The android almost sounded relieved.

Richard punched a few numbers into the cash register, and holy cow, it had been a long time since Gavin had seen an actual, physical cash register. The detective paid in cash, and the android traded him the small pot of flowers and a paper receipt.

"Thanks," nodded Gavin.

"I wish your co-worker a speedy recovery. Hopefully we'll get to see you soon."

Gavin left after that, pot of flowers in hand as he started back towards the police station where he had left a limping and teary-eyed Officer Chen.

His ears were burning, but he wasn't too sure why.

_Fucking allergies, man_ , he thought.


	2. Florist's Choice

"Back again so soon?" asked Richard, that damn beautiful smile lighting up his whole face. "The apology bouquet not enough?"

"No," chuckled Gavin, shaking his head. "She liked it a lot. I'm actually hoping to get something for another co-worker's baby shower."

"Excellent. Did you have anything particular in mind?"

"No, not really."

"Florist's choice again, I see," said the android with a grin.

Gavin just couldn't bring himself to look away. Richard glanced over at another section of the store, contemplating which flowers would be the most suitable. There was just something about the way his cool, grey eyes studied everything with careful precision.

"Come with me," instructed the android as he made his way over to a small bucket of white flowers. He picked up a few, gentle hands lifting with great care. "These are edelweiss."

"They symbolic for anything?"

Richard nodded. "For courage and devotion. Perfect for an expecting mother."

"Cool," said Gavin, nodding as well. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"And I can throw in some dill and holly, just so it doesn't look too plain."

"Thanks."

Gavin watched the android work, completely entranced. He watched Richard put the little bundle of flowers together, watched his fingers delicately handle the stems of each individual stalk. It was like watching a dance, an intricate and gentle dance of great care and devotion to even the tiniest of details.

Gavin cleared his throat. He had definitely been staring for way too long.

Once again, Richard rang everything through. Gavin paid in cash, thanked the android, and walked out with his purchase.

Except, this time, the detective could have sworn he felt Richard's eyes on him the entire time as he left the store. His stomach was in nervous little knots. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but there wasn't a co-worker having a baby shower. No, Sandra from payroll wasn't scheduled to have the child for another five months, and he sure as hell probably wasn't going to be invited to the baby shower.

Gavin would just have to find another excuse to visit the tiny flower shop on 7th and Lincoln Avenue.

* * *

A young Asian officer limped into the flower shop, a crutch under her right arm for support. She was keenly eyeing the android florist up and down. The name patch that had been sewn into her DPD uniform read: CHEN.

"Hello," greeted the android.

"Hi," she greeted back.

"How can I help you today?"

"Are you the owner of this store?" the officer asked, getting straight to business.

Richard blinked, but answered promptly, "Yes, ma'am. My name is Richard."

Officer Chen gave a small smile, sticking her hand out to shake. Richard hesitantly reached out, but shook it out of politeness.

"My name is Officer Tina Chen. I work with Detective Reed. He was in here yesterday to buy me some flowers."

"Detective Reed," echoed the android. "So that's his name, is it? Did you end up liking the flowers? I assume they were for you."

"Yeah, they were. I thought they were beautiful. They were too nice for him to have randomly picked himself, so I figured that I should stop in and thank you."

"I'm glad you liked them."

"Did that dumbass really not give you his name?" chuckled Chen, shaking her head in amusement. "Don't tell him I said this, but he's been talking non-stop about you. You left quite the impression."

Richard couldn't hide the smile that forced its way onto his lips. "Oh?" was all he could manage.

"Yeah," said Chen. "But anyways, if he does come back, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

Richard tilted his head to the side, curious. "What kind of favor?"

The officer bit her lip mischievously, scheming. Reed was probably going to kill her for what she was about to do, but the wheels had already been set in motion.


	3. Blind Dates & Free Booze

"Who is she again?" asked Gavin, frowning. He was sitting at his desk in the bullpen, reviewing files and trying to catch up on paperwork.

"Her name's Chelsea," smiled Officer Chen. "I met her in my yoga class. She's great. You'll like her."

Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a bit of pressure in the back of his eyes. "Look, I'm sure she's great. But I'm just not-"

"I'll pay for the booze," offered Tina. "Go on this date with her and I'll pay for all of your booze."

Gavin made a quizzical expression. "Really?"

"Really."

Gavin raised his index finger and pointed. "Appetizers, too."

"Fine."

"What are you plotting?"

"Can't I just help a friend get laid?"

Gavin laughed, "That's mighty grand of you."

Tina shrugged, making her way back to her station. "I know, I'm a saint. She said she'll meet you at Joe's Eatery at six." All the while, she stifled the giggles that threatened to bubble out from her lips. "This is going to be great."

"What was that?" inquired Gavin.

"Nothing," said Tina with a large smile. "Nothing at all."

* * *

The atmosphere at Joe's Eatery was lively and rambunctious. Over in one corner of the restaurant was a party reservation of twenty, fifteen of which were kids hopped up on sugar. Gavin found himself sitting in the bar section, though, away from the impatient kids waiting on their meals.

Chelsea was nice. She was fine. To be perfectly blunt, nothing to write home about. She had nice, curled blonde hair, green eyes and a pretty smile. But Gavin found himself more interested in the beer he had ordered than his blind date.

"And so I was like, yeah, of course you can come over," Chelsea rambled. Gavin hadn't been listening. Her story didn't interest him at all. "And I was like, it's not like I was trying to take your parking spot or whatever. Like, slow your roll, you know?"

"Yeah," nodded Gavin, absentmindedly.

He found himself glancing at the clock on the wall behind the bartender a little too often. He wondered if Chelsea had noticed. No, of course not. She seemed to be having a great time with her one-sided conversation.

And that was when he spotted him out of the corner of his eye. Gavin blanched, almost choking on his last big gulp of beer.

"What the-" was all he could manage before Richard approached, an almost ridiculously massive arrangement of flowers in his arms.

"Are you Chelsea?" asked the android with a smile. How had Gavin not noticed him approach earlier?

"Yes," she answered sweetly.

"These are for you," explained Richard, handing the flowers over to her.

She squealed in delight, "Oh my God! Who are these from?"

"They're from Gavin."

Gavin's cheeks turned bright red, an odd sense of confusion and panic washing over him.

"W-what?" he sputtered. "No, there's been some sort of mista-"

"I love them!" exclaimed his date in pure glee. "Tina was right, you really are a sweetie."

Gavin clenched his fists, trying to wipe the worried expression off of his face. He glanced over at Richard, who had that stupid smile on his face. This was embarrassing.

This was so, so embarrassing.

"Tina," he hissed under his breath. "I'm going to kill her."

"What was that?" asked Richard, clearly amused.

"Nothin'," he said quickly.

Richard started towards the door. "I'd better get back. I hope you two have a fantastic evening."

Gavin watched the android leave, his heart sinking. A part of him wanted to apologize, but he wasn't sure why.

 _Holy fucking shit is it hot in here or is it just me?_ he thought to himself.

The rest of the evening went by in a relative blur, Gavin having ordered five more beers to be placed on Chen's tab.


	4. Turn You On

Gavin rubbed his hands together nervously as he walked down the length of the street. The cool air of the morning sent a chill down his spine. If the sun hadn't been hiding behind the clouds, it would have been the perfect day to ask an android out on a date.

"C'mon, man," he muttered to himself. "You got this. Just as him out. Don't be a little bitch about it." Gavin clenched his hands into a fist. "Fuck, have my hands always been this clammy?"

When he saw the familiar green awning above the little flower shop's door, the open sign turned on and glowing, Gavin's heart rate picked up in tempo. Why was he so nervous? He had been on plenty of dates before. And yes, those dates had all been with humans, but surely the same principles applied.

But through the display window, the detective noticed something a little odd. He could see Richard and the familiar ring of light on his right temple, but it was blinking a cautious yellow. From where he stood, Gavin could see a young man talking to the android. But this clearly wasn't just any old conversation about flower arrangements.

In his hand was a knife.

Gavin instinctively reached for the radio attached to his uniform's breast pocket.

"Dispatch," he said quickly, "we have a fourteen-ten in progress at seventh and Lincoln Avenue. Requesting back-up, first on scene."

Once the voice over the radio confirmed, Gavin dashed forward, practically bursting through the front door of the shop. But Gavin froze, screeching to a halt. His pure confusion was evident in his expression.

Richard was standing over the robber, the culprit's arm twisted painfully behind his back and held in place by the android's strong grip. The offending knife lay on the ground next to them, forgotten and useless. Gavin lowered his service weapon, stunned.

"Er..." he hesitated. The android looked up, a smile immediately forming on his lips.

"Hello, Detective Reed," greeted Richard, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. "What brings you in today?"

"From the window," he managed to explain, "I thought you were in trouble."

"Oh, this?" said Richard, holding the robber in place with very little difficulty. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Gavin's cheeks felt warm.  _Why does this turn me on so much?_

"But I'm really happy you're here," continued the android.

"Y-you are?"

"Yes. Would you mind helping me arrest him?"

"O-oh, yeah. Yeah, I can do that." Gavin approached the robber, pulling out his pair of cuffs. "I'll bring him to the station. Would you mind coming with me? Just so I have a witness to file the report."

"I don't mind at all," said the android with a nod. "It'll be interesting to visit your place of work for a change."

As Gavin led the suspect away through the front door, he took a deep breath and swallowed at the dryness in the back of his throat.

"Hey, Richard?"

"Yes, detective?"

"I know this really isn't the time or place," he began, "but I was wondering..." His voice trailed off, his ears incredibly hot and his heart racing.

 _C'mon, don't be a little bitch about it_.

"Yes?" pressed Richard, a teasing smile lifting the corners of his lips.

 "I was wondering... If you have time off, I mean..."

"Oh my God," sighed the robber. "Just ask him out already!"

Gavin blanched. He tightened the cuffs around the suspect's wrists, watching him wince a little at the pressure. Richard tilted his head to the side, thoroughly amused.

"Are you trying to ask me out, detective?" the android asked coolly.

"Y-yeah," he nodded sheepishly.

Richard smiled that big, stupidly handsome smile. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Is that a yes?"

Richard pulled off his green apron and gently set it on the counter, following the detective to the door. He flipped off the switched to the neon open sign before fishing for the storefront keys.

"Yes, that's a yes," he answered with a chuckle.


	5. Fond of You

He thought long and hard about what kind of date he wanted to take Richard on. What did androids even do in their free time? That is, if they had free time. Do androids like going to the movies? A dinner date was out of the question since they didn't eat. Gavin scratched at the spot behind his ear. Why was this so hard?

"What's wrong?" asked Tina, walking past Gavin's work station with two freshly brewed cups of coffee. She glanced at Gavin's work terminal, "Top 10 Great First Date Ideas" pulled up on screen. With nimble fingers, Gavin closed out of the tab, but just a little too late.

"Nothin'."

"Oh, I get it," grinned Tina, trying to hide the obvious amusement rising in her throat. "Hot date with Chelsea?"

"Fuck no. Holy shit, thank you for reminding me. What the fuck were you thinking, setting me up with her?"

Tina shrugged, trying not to look too delighted. "What? I thought she was cute."

"And a hot mess," sighed Gavin. "She had two drinks and was plastered. Had to walk her home like an hour later."

"She said you were a real gentleman. Did you like the flowers I sent on your behalf?"

"That was you?"

"Yeah," nodded Tina. "I stopped by that little flower shop you kept rambling about and pre-ordered some for you."

Gavin let out an exhausted sigh.

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"It's nothing," insisted the detective. "Just let me get back to work."

But Tina would not let him get back to work. She placed one of the coffees on his work surface and leaned against the edge of his desk, shooting him a knowing look.

"Fucking what, Chen? Don't you have reports to file?"

"Probably," she chuckled, taking a sip from her own mug. She had added one too many cubes of sugar. "For Christ's sake, Reed. Take him for a walk in the park. It's cheap and it's fun. Don't stress so much about it. I'm pretty sure he likes you, too."

Gavin blanched. A part of him was grateful for the suggestion, and the other half wanted to scream bloody murder. Holy fucking shit, was it that obvious?

* * *

The detective had to swallow his pride. He would never tell Tina that they actually went for a walk in the park.

It was actually quite a lovely date. Gavin picked Richard up from the shop after close and things just sort of naturally fell into place. They started with small talk, which Gavin really, really hated. But helped him relax, listening to Richard's soothing words like warm honey. The park wasn't that busy, which provided them with the perfect little walking circuit around the artificially-made lake at the center of the park.

"Got any bridezilla stories?" asked Gavin, walking in perfect tempo with the android. Not too fast, not too slow. Comfortable.

"As a matter of fact, I do," nodded Richard. "Soon-to-be brides are actually some of the worst clients to have."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I had one woman go off on me because the ribbons didn't match her place settings. She was a terrifying little thing."

Gavin laughed. The idea of some small, red-faced woman screaming profanities at the tall, charming android seemed impossibly hilarious.

"What about you?" asked Richard. "What kind of crazy things does a detective have to deal with in a run of the day?"

Gavin exhaled, glancing just over the horizon at the setting sun. "I once had a case that involved twins. We thought the suspect was one brother, but it was actually the other causing all kinds of shit. It was a weird mess."

"Sounds confusing."

"It was," agreed Gavin.

Their walk continued for another two laps, passing by the same exhausted hot dog vendor.

"Thank you again for helping me with that robber," mentioned Richard with a quick glance to the side at the detective.

"Just doing my job," Gavin brushed off. "You did most of the heavy lifting. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Do what?"

Gavin motioned with his hands, "The whole 'subdue the criminal' thing. I was half hoping to come out as the hero."

Richard chuckled, "I wasn't always a florist. My brother and I, we used to..."

Gavin looked to his side, suddenly curious as the android's thoughts trailed off. He wondered if he had accidentally hit a sore spot.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Really."

"No, I want to," smiled Richard gently. "My brother and I, we used to be hunters. Of sorts. Our android model was originally designed to assist in police investigations, but the line was discontinued after the revolution. But that's really more of a third date kind of story."

This peaked Gavin's interest. "Is there going to be a third date?"

Richard stopped, looking Gavin straight in the eye. Holy fucking shit were his grey eyes absolutely beautiful? Or was Gavin just losing his mind? Probably both.

"I certainly hope that there will be," said the android. "I like to think that I'm very fond of you."

That comment made Gavin's cheeks burn. Why did he feel like such a teenager? They continued to walk and talk, happily giddy to discuss absolutely nothing of importance. It was only on their fourth lap around the lake that Gavin realized they had been holding hands.

Yes, Gavin was very fond of this android, too.


End file.
